cirkleblog

My 15 minutes of ‘fame’ with the PM on Brexit

In 17 days’ time the country takes to the polls to decide whether to stay in the EU or make a historic move and sever ties with our European friends and neighbours. And last week I had the privilege of discussing this very topic with none other than Mr David Cameron. It was all down to Grazia magazine, who asked readers to submit their Brexit question to win a place around the debating table with the PM. In went my question – all about creating effective working conditions for working women (a question close to our hearts as we’ve always championed career progression, flexible working, trust and reward) and before I knew it, I was shaking Mr Cameron’s hand in the House of Commons along with nine other lucky Grazia readers.

After a tour of the historic House with Jane Ellison MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health – who gamely answered our questions on the Zika virus, women in Government and other hot topics – we met Mr Cameron and put our questions to him one by one in his Commons office (the room where he paces up and down as he prepares for PMQs) . It can only be described as an out-of-body experience, sitting next to the PM with a copy of Grazia on the table (and not be distracted by the cover story about Amal Clooney). But also an amazingly rich one. Mr Cameron was energetic, approachable and incredibly informative on every aspect of Brexit. He stuck to the foundation of his ‘stay in Europe’ argumentation – he passionately believes that our success lies in having a stable, strong economy. And he made me realise this really is one of the biggest votes for us as a country, pointing out that if we vote in a General Election and it doesn’t go to plan, we can vote again within five years. But with Brexit, our collective decision will last for a generation. Gulp. Time to gem up on the Stay or Go campaigns…